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Maracanã - Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho

There are few stadiums in the world that can rightly claim to be
truly historic monuments as well as sporting arenas. But the
Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho, or the Maracana as it is popularly
known, with its enormous expanse, huge seating capacity and
majestic architecture, is definitely one of them.

Built in the heart of Río de Janeiro for the 1950 FIFA World
Cup
™, the colossal stadium has
witnessed some of the most unforgettable moments in Brazilian and
world football.

Within the realm of South American football, the Maracana has
taken on mythical proportions and represents an almost impregnable
fortress. A good performance in itself is no guarantee of winning
there. Some of Brazil's greatest ever players, Pele, Garrincha,
Zico and Romario, have all graced the hallowed ground where
fanatical crowds of up to 183,000 mean only the very toughest
visitors survive.

Building for grandeur
With the FIFA World Cup as a pretext, the
Brazilians set about building the biggest football stadium in the
world. The idea was to construct an enormous structure that would
provide a suitably majestic setting for the host country's
victory at the 1950 tournament. And so work began in 1948 with over
10,000 labourers toiling ceaselessly under the blazing Rio sun.
When the stadium was complete, the capacity exceeded the previous
record holder, Hampden Park in Glasgow, by 43,000.

The
A Noite newspaper reflected the immense sense of pride
felt by all Brazilians at the time: "Today, Brazil has the
biggest and the best stadium in the world. Now we have a truly
fantastic setting where the whole world can admire our sporting
grandeur and prowess."

The stadium was officially introduced to the world before the
opening match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, where the hosts would
play five of their six games (one would be at the Pacaembu).
Brazil, under Flavio Costa, were firm favourites to lift the trophy
and approached the final contest against Uruguay with the swagger
of champions-elect after easing aside Sweden and Spain 7-1 and 6-1
respectively. As the tournament was played on a final group stage
basis that year, a draw was all Brazil needed in the deciding match
to be crowned champions.

Maracanazolives for Brazil
The Final was played on 16 July 1950, in front of
an official crowd of 174,000, although reliable sources put this
figure much higher. One such person was Joao Havelange, the
President of FIFA between 1974 and 1988, who recollects:
"There were some 220,000 people in the stadium that day,"
a figure equivalent to 10 percent of Río de Janeiro's
population at the time.

Things appeared to be going to plan when Friaca gave the home
side the lead, but Uruguay's response was to rock Brazil to its
very core. Juan Schiaffino and Alcides Ghiggia turned the game
around for the
Charrúa, handing them a 2-1 win and the title. Without
doubt the saddest moment in the history of Brazilian football was
met by an eerie, haunting silence in the gigantic stadium. The
world's media dubbed Uruguay's shock victory as the
Maracanazo, a term that is still used today whenever a
visiting team wins at the stadium.

"Grown men fought back tears after the game. Some fans had
left just before the end with the game all square, thinking Brazil
were champions. Yet even before they reached the main gates, their
dream had gone up in smoke," recalled Havelange.

As the story goes, the then President of FIFA, Jules Rimet, was
making his way down to the pitch to present the trophy to the
Brazilians. By the time he reached the pitch Uruguay had turned the
game around and were now world champions. A little taken aback by
the sudden turn of events, Rimet discarded the congratulatory
speech that he had prepared for the Brazilians and simply handed
the cup over to the Uruguayan hero Obdulio Varela.

Some say that Brazil have never fully avenged the defeat, but on
16 July 1989 a goal by Romario was enough to beat Uruguay in the
final of that year's Copa America on the same ground.

Records, idols and a common ground
The property of the Rio de Janeiro state, the Maracana
regularly hosts matches involving its 'big four' teams -
Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco. The Maracana has also
witnessed some of the most memorable moments in the history of
Brazilian football, such as Pele's 1000th career goal for
Santos against Vasco on 19 November 1969. When Pele beat the
Argentine goalkeeper Edgardo Andrada with a 34th minute penalty,
the ensuing pitch invasion by hundreds of fans and photographers
stopped the match.

One of the most poignant and evocative chapters in the
stadium's history came on 20 January 1983, when Garrincha, one
of the all-time greats of Brazilian football, passed away and his
remains were brought to the stadium. Thousand of fans came to pay
their respects and bid a final farewell to the idol.

In 2000, 50 years after the legendary
Maracanazo, the stadium hosted the final of the inaugural
FIFA Club World Cup. In an all-Brazilian affair, 73,000 supporters
saw Corinthians prevail against rivals Vasco to lift the
trophy.

As for its immediate future, the Maracana may well go down the
same route as London's Wembley Stadium after the President of
the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Ricardo Texeira,
expressed his desire to raze the old stadium and rebuild a new one
with the same name. The controversial proposal was met with huge
protests and was rejected outright by the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro
and the majority of its citizens. The matter is far from closed,
however, and any decision is sure to have repercussions throughout
Brazil.

As usual, the last word falls to the great Pele: "The
Maracana is a special place for all Brazilians, but especially for
me. It was there that I scored my first goal for the
Auriverde against Argentina, and also where I scored my
1000th professional goal years later. Some 1,700 people have played
on that pitch and the aura of the place is extraordinary."

"Down through its history, only three people have
managed to silence the Maracana: the Pope, Frank Sinatra and
me."
Alcides Ghiggia, scorer of Uruguay's winning goal in
the decisive final game of the 1950 FIFA World Cup